Majority of Pundits Predict Ravens Will End Their Four-Game Skid
If someone told you before the season started that the Week 8 game between the Ravens and the Chicago Bears would pit a team with a four-game winning streak against a team on a four-game losing streak, surely you'd say the Ravens were the former team.
The reality is that the Bears (4-2) are rolling and the Ravens (1-5) are reeling heading into Sunday's game at M&T Bank Stadium.
Injuries have been a significant contributor to Baltimore's disappointing start, but the team is healthier now than it has been all season. All-Pro inside linebacker Roquan Smith (hamstring) is expected to return after missing the past two games, and All-Pro fullback Patrick Ricard (calf) is on track to make his season debut.
The big question is whether Lamar Jackson (hamstring) will play. The two-time MVP was a limited participant at practice the past two days after being sidelined for two games.
Head Coach John Harbaugh said, "it's hard to put a number on it," when asked Wednesday about Jackson's chances of playing. On Thursday, Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken said Jackson "looked really good" and "took another step forward."
Harbaugh declined to reveal whether Cooper Rush or Tyler Huntley would start against the Bears if Jackson doesn't play.
Jackson's uncertain status posed a challenge for prognosticators. The majority of them made their predictions for the game with the assumption that Jackson will play. Of the 51 pundits we sampled, 34 picked the Ravens.
Here's what pundits are saying about the game:
It's a must-win game for the Ravens.
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco: "The Ravens are the desperate team here and with Jackson back I think they find a way to win it. If not, they are done."
Chicago Sun-Times’ Patrick Finley: "This is a bad spot for the Bears, provided that Lamar Jackson plays. The 1-5 Ravens are coming off a bye and can't afford to lose without sinking further into obscurity. Even if Jackson is hampered, the Ravens will be desperate; the Bears won't be."
This game – and the Ravens' season – hinges on Jackson's injury status.
The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec: "If Jackson plays and looks close to himself, I'll take the Ravens to win their first game in over a month. If they can't win at home after the bye against a better but still unproven Bears team, they should start selling pieces as early as Sunday night. If Jackson doesn't play or isn't right, I think the Bears win."
The Ravens won't win if Jackson is out.
Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame: "If it's Snoop Huntley under center, forgive me for not having a ton of faith in the Ravens to win this game against the streaking Bears. Chicago has won four consecutive games and is right in the mix for a playoff spot in the NFC at 4–2. Caleb Williams has thrown nine touchdowns with only three interceptions. The defense is concerning as it ranks 25th, but that means nothing if Jackson isn't on the field. Also, Baltimore's defense ranks 30th, only better than the Bengals and Cowboys."
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio: "We don't think Lamar Jackson will be playing. If we're right, this one is an easy pick."
Beating the Bears won't be easy, even if Jackson plays.
USA Today’s Richard Morin: "The Chicago offense is no slouch. Even if Lamar Jackson returns, I like the chances of this being a close game."
It could be a shootout.
NFL.com’s Dan Parr: "The expected return of Jackson from a hamstring injury in Week 8 should help the offense return to the form it displayed in Weeks 1-3, when Baltimore averaged 37 points per game. The problem is John Harbaugh's crew still lost two of those three contests and is allowing a league-worst 32.3 points per game. Can the defense do its job against a burgeoning Bears squad that has run for 367 yards in the last two weeks (the most of any club in that span)? The anticipated return of another Raven on the mend, Roquan Smith, should be useful in that effort, but I remain unconvinced. There is shootout potential here, and I still like Jackson over Caleb Williams in that scenario. I'll give the home team the edge in this one, but not by much."
Derrick Henry could be in line for a huge day.
Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton: "The Bears' run defense allows the fifth-most yards per game and gives up the second-most yards per carry (5.3). Regardless of who's under center, the five-time Pro Bowler will reintroduce himself as King Henry in a big game for 150-plus rushing yards."
ESPN’s Eric Moody: "Even though the Ravens' offensive line ranks 26th in run block win rate (69.2%), Henry is one of the few RBs in the league skilled enough to transcend poor O-line play. Baltimore faces a Bears defensive front that ranks 23rd in run stop win rate (29%) and allows the fifth-most rushing yards per game (137.7)."
| Source | Prediction | Commentary |
|---|---|---|
| ESPN | 7 of 11 panelists pick Ravens | |
| Baltimore Sun | Bears 24, Ravens 13 | “If Lamar Jackson plays, flip these numbers. The Ravens’ defense is healthy and showed signs of life against the Rams, a better offense than Chicago’s. Baltimore should make the most of its ground game with Ricard in tow. Safety Alohi Gilman allows for the three-safety look where Hamilton is near the line of scrimmage and can, to some extent, mask issues up front. But if Jackson’s hamstring injury keeps him out another week, Baltimore’s defense won’t go win them this game.” – Sam Cohn |
| USA Today | 5 of 6 panelists pick Ravens | |
| NFL.com | 5 of 5 panelists pick Ravens | “I'm not buying into the concept that being desperate will make the Ravens significantly better than what we saw from them in the first few weeks of the season, when Lamar Jackson was healthy. The expected return of Jackson from a hamstring injury in Week 8 should help the offense return to the form it displayed in Weeks 1-3, when Baltimore averaged 37 points per game. … There is shootout potential here, and I still like Jackson over Caleb Williams in that scenario. I'll give the home team the edge in this one, but not by much.” — Dan Parr |
| NFL Network | 5 of 10 panelists pick Ravens | |
| Sporting News | Ravens 27, Bears 24 | “The line suggests the Ravens expect Lamar Jackson back after a bye and that time off should also help them get a little healthier beyond QB, led by some key defensive pieces. That's bad timing for the Bears, winners of four straight. Caleb Williams will be game in another return to the Beltway, but Jackson digs deep to give the Ravens respect.” — Vinnie Iyer |
| CBS Sports | 8 of 8 panelists pick Ravens | “The Ravens are coming off the bye and might have Lamar Jackson back. They need him. But how healthy will he be? The Bears have won four straight to get to 4-2 and they are doing it with a running game. But the Ravens are the desperate team here and with Jackson back I think they find a way to win it. If not, they are done.” — Pete Prisco |
| Pro Football Talk | 2 of 2 panelists pick Bears | “We don’t think Lamar Jackson will be playing. If we’re right, this one is an easy pick.”— Mike Florio |
| Sports Illustrated | 4 of 7 panelists pick Bears |
The Athletic's AFC North Beat Writers Handicap Division Race
Pittsburgh (4-2) was threatening to run away with the AFC North before Joe Flacco led the Cincinnati Bengals to a 33-31 upset of the Steelers last Thursday. The result helped the Ravens, but also benefited the Bengals (3-4), who are banking on Flacco keeping their playoff hopes alive until Joe Burrow returns late in the season.
The Athletic’s AFC North beat writers discussed whether the division race is wide open or if it's the Steelers' division to lose. None of them were ready to crown Pittsburgh yet.
"To me, there's still a little space between them and everyone else, but I do concede that this is a 'let's revisit in a couple of weeks' storyline," Zrebiec wrote. "Pittsburgh has three really tough games on tap. The Bengals, meanwhile, have two very winnable games ahead, and so do the Ravens if their starting quarterback returns. This still could get interesting."
Steelers writer Mike DeFabo wrote: "I have been saying for a couple of weeks that I think the division could come down to the last game of the season, when the Steelers play the Ravens. With Jake Browning behind center for the Bengals, it was a two-team race between the Ravens and Steelers. Flacco changes things. If the 40-year-old can capitalize on winnable games against the New York Jets and Chicago Bears, the Bengals could re-enter that conversation."
Bengals writer Paul Dehner Jr. said there's a chance the Bengals-Steelers game at Pittsburgh on Nov. 16 could be for first place.
"Cincinnati plays the winless Jets and Bears at home the next two weeks before a bye. The Steelers' schedule stiffens, and after last Thursday, there have to be questions about how their defense will handle Jordan Love and the Packers, the top-seeded Colts and a trip to LA to face Justin Herbert the next three weeks," Dehner wrote. "Even if the Bengals lose to the Bears, if the Steelers go 1-2 over this stretch, a victory on Nov. 16 in Pittsburgh would give the Bengals the tiebreaker and division lead."
Browns writer Zac Jackson isn't writing off any team, including Cleveland (2-5), which traded Flacco to the Bengals a few weeks ago.
"I'll work under the assumption that every team is alive through the Nov. 16 Ravens-Browns game after the Bengals play in Pittsburgh," Jackson wrote. "After that day, we'll take another look at things."
Ravens' Reported Signing of Carl Lawson Gives Them 'Proven Option' at Edge Rusher
The Ravens are reportedly signing veteran edge rusher Carl Lawson to their practice squad. Baltimore Beatdown’s Nikhil Mehta believes it's a sound move.
"Is Lawson the big swing that fans have been clamoring for? Of course not, but the Ravens needed to make a quick addition as they weighed their options ahead of the trade deadline," Mehta wrote. "Lawson was one of the more proven options who could offer replacement-level (or better) play on short notice."
The Ravens, who are tied for last in the league in sacks with eight, need depth at edge rusher after trading Odafe Oweh and with Tavius Robinson on injured reserve with a broken foot. The 30-year-old Lawson, who has played with the Bengals, Jets, and Cowboys, has had at least five sacks in all five seasons in which he played at least 12 games.
